The Attorney General of New York joined a coalition of states in filing a brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit arguing that Hawaii and Nevada’s laws banning same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.

“After the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic step this past June to secure equal rights and protections for same-sex couples, the U.S. Court of Appeals must ensure these discriminatory laws in Nevada and Hawaii will not continue to undermine our national progress,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “The State of New York has long recognized out-of-state same-sex marriages, and the enactment of the Marriage Equality Act further cemented our position on this critical civil rights issue. My office will continue to work every day to defend the fundamental principle of equal justice under law for all.”

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley led the filing of the amicus brief joined by 13 other states, including California, Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.

Currently 14 states, plus the District of Columbia, allow same-sex couples to marry.

HRC, a proud founding member of the Hawaii United for Marriage coalition, is hard at work connecting fair-minded constituents to their state legislators. HRC also joined a coalition of civil rights organizations in filing an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs in these two marriage cases.